Generation Jihad

Is Africa the epicenter of today's jihad? Bill and Caleb discuss, including in the context of Mali, the drawdown of African Union forces in Somalia, and one of Uganda's worst terrorist attacks in more than a decade.

Bill welcomes back to the show Generation Jihad regular Ambassador Edmund Fitton-Brown. Now a member of the Counter Extremism Project's advisory board, Edmund previously served as the UK's Ambassador to Yemen and later as the coordinator of the U.N. Security Council’s Sanctions Monitoring Team. Edmund's former team at the U.N. just released its latest report on Afghanistan which details (among other troubling issues) just how embedded al Qaeda is in Afghanistan's Taliban government. Bill and Edmund dissect the report's findings.

Host Bill Roggio is joined by two of his FDD colleagues to unpack the context surrounding Turkey's imminent presidential elections. Jonathan Schanzer is the Senior Vice President for Research at FDD, where Sinan Ciddi is a non-resident senior fellow. Both are Turkey experts. (One has taken a harder hit from pro-government Turks on Twitter than the other.)From President Erdogan's thinly-veiled political opportunism — like his 180 on Syria; his regional charm offensive, particularly with Israel; and his role as a U.S. "counterterrorism partner" — and his blatant corruption — like his mismanagement of earthquake aid and his allowing Turkey to be a terrorist superhighway — to an opposition candidate's eleventh hour dropout, this is your starter pack for understanding what's about to unfold in Turkey. Want to know more? Here's what to read:U.S. Demands More Sanctions Enforcement From TurkeyU.S. and Turkey Take Joint Action to Disrupt ISIS FinancingNo US-Turkey Rapprochement Is Possible Under ErdoganTurkey Wants a Post-election Reset with WashingtonWill Erdogan Embrace The West?U.S. Sanctions Turkish Entities for Aiding Russian War EffortBiden Must Tell Erdogan To Stop Targeting US PartnersTurkey Supports Hamas, Which Means an Alliance With Israel Isn’t Going To HappenTurkey’s Erdogan must take concrete action on Hamas and the Muslim BrotherhoodHamas Operatives in Turkey Recruit Palestinians for Terror AttacksTurkey’s Earthquake: The Buck Stops with ErdoganTurkey’s Crimes Against Humanity Under ICC SpotlightErdogan faces growing backlash over earthquake mismanagementErdogan Threatens to Discard Election ResultsIn Support of a Democratic TurkeyTurkey After Erdogan

Host Bill Roggio and co-host Caleb Weiss are joined by the associate professor for national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, Dr. Craig Whiteside, for a deep dive into the ranks of the Islamic State. They discuss leaders of past and present and their roles within the broader IS.

Bill Roggio is joined by co-host Caleb Weiss to unpack updates related to the global Jihad from West Africa to Southeast Asia, including CENTCOM’s announcement of a helicopter raid that targeted a senior Islamic State official.

To unpack and assess the latest terror threats faced by Israel, Bill had to call in the experts: Dr. Jonathan Schanzer and Joe Truzman. If you'd like to dig deeper on the topics discussed in this episode, check out Joe's project that maps terrorism in the West Bank and Jon's book "Gaza Conflict 2021: Hamas, Israel and Eleven Days of War," which, according to LTG (Ret.) H.R. McMaster "If you want to understand the hell in a very small place that is Gaza, read this book."

Host Bill Roggio is joined by FDD Senior Fellow Behnam Ben Taleblu to disuss Behnam's major new FDD Monograph — Arsenal: Assessing the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Ballistic Missile Program — including through the lens of Iran's shadow war against Israel, AKA "the war between wars."

Host Bill Roggio and (now official) co-host Caleb Weiss are joined by former coordinator of the UN Security Council Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring team Edmund Fitton-Brown to discuss findings in the latest UN report on the Islamic State and al Qaeda.

Host Bill Roggio is joined again by (semi-official?) co-host Caleb Weiss to discuss Jihadi control in West Africa. In the last several years, Jihadists have moved toward central and southern Mali and are now threatening Bamako, the capital of Mali. In Burkina Faso, Jihadis control around 40% of the country. Bill and Caleb walk through past and present Jihadi attacks, offenses, and operations.

Host Bill Roggio is joined again by John Hardie, deputy director of FDD's Russia Program, to discuss the latest developments from Russia's war in Ukraine, including Russia's recent change in command of its forces.